Future Fallout
by Cypher
Summary: With everything that happened, FutureVirgil should've realized there would be some fallout... Slash, spoilers for "Future Shock"


**Future Fallout  
**By Cypher

Virgil tossed his mask on the computer console and collapsed into his seat. He'd forgotten what a pain stasis beams were. He rubbed the bridge of his nose, not even wanting to think of the number of cases that were piled up in his office. Oh, sure, he'd told the secretary to divert as many as she could to other lawyers, but there was a price to pay for being the best.

Sometimes, being a super hero really sucked.

"Well, look who finally showed up."

He shut his eyes. Of course, it was only a matter of time before Gear returned from his false mission. He'd really hated asking Bruce to join in the deceit, but it was the only way to keep the timeline intact. He remembered Gear wasn't present for the ordeal, and Bruce was the only one whose orders Gear would follow. "Hey, Rich." Virgil turned in his seat.

Richie looked nothing like the hologram he'd received. Virgil'd known the message was a fake because of the snakes' obvious image mistake. Rich had never gained weight, never faced the middle age spread that had haunted the Foley men for generations. Having a genius brain, Richie'd managed to develop a cure for that genetic disposition, along with balding and his poor eyesight.

No, Gear, in person, was a lean, mean, fighting machine. He looked more like Flash in build, thin and a bit lanky, but there were defined muscles. They weren't engineered, they were real, built up from years of crime fighting and working out at the gym. Rich did still wear Gear's trademark costume, but at the moment, he was in civilian clothes: jeans and a white muscle shirt.

He also had his arms crossed and was giving Virgil the evil eye. That never boded well. "You wanna tell me why you sent me around the world for a week on a fake mission, and why I came back to this?" He held up the recording device, the one with the false message.

Oh yeah, Virgil knew by the cool tone he was in hot water. "Well, I kinda needed to get you outta the picture-"

"So you could let yourself get captured!" Richie slammed the device on the table, and both of them heard the resounding crack. "You better have a damned good explanation, or so help me…"

Virgil held up his hands as he stood, approaching the angry man. "I had to do it, Rich. I didn't want to, but I had to. To preserve the timeline."

"Timeline? You think I care about the freakin' timeline! What would've happened if you'd been killed, huh! Do you know how devastated we'd all be!" Rich threw the device across the room and stormed towards Virgil. "Do you!"

"Rich, I-"

"Pops would KILL me if anything happened to you and I wasn't here! And what about Nigel! What would HE do without his dad to scare away the monsters in his closet!"

"Rich-"

"Oh, and lest we forget ME, your own freakin' HUSBAND-"

"RICHARD!"

"WHAT!"

Virgil grabbed the man and pulled him into a tight hug, ignoring the rigidity of Richie's stance. He knew it wouldn't last, and in a few minutes he felt the tension melt from the blond's body, two slender arms wrapping around his waist.

"God, V…if anything had happened to you…" Richie's voice was tired, scared. It was a tone Virgil rarely heard, but when he did he knew his husband meant it, that he'd really pushed Rich to the brink.

"Nothing happened. I saved myself, just like I did last time." He reached up and stroked the hair at the nape of his husband's neck. "I'm alright, I'm here." Virgil pulled his head back long enough to look into his lover's eyes. "Nothing's gonna happen to me. I made that promise a long time ago, and I've never broken it."

Richie pulled Virgil forward and rested his head on the man's shoulder. "When I came back and heard what happened…don't you ever do that again, Virg. Don't you ever, or I swear, I'll kill you."

Virgil smiled a little. It was a false threat, but it was nice to know even after all these years, they still meant so much to each other. "I won't. It was just this one time, to preserve the timeline."

"The timeline can take a flying leap."

"Rich…"

Richie sighed against him. "I know, I know. I was there when you came back, after all." He pulled away and looked Virgil over. "No damage?"

"Nope. Those snakes never laid a hand on me." He grinned and held out his arms for inspection. "Go on, have a look."

"Maybe later, when I'm done cursing all your forefathers for making you such a bastard."

"But I'm YOUR bastard." He reached out and stroked Richie's cheek with the back of his hand. "And ya love me."

Richie let out a heavy breath. "Yeah, I love you." Rich's eyes sparkled with a touch of mischief. "You're sleeping on the couch, but I love you."

"Aw, come on Rich, the couch? It's so…lumpy."

"I thought you liked the lumps, that's why we couldn't buy a new one."

Ouch. He'd walked right into that one. Virgil pulled his hand away and stepped up to Rich. "You don't really wanna make me sleep all by my lonesome now, do you?"

Richie pretended to think for a minute, then took hold of Virgil's hand. "I guess it'd be cruel. I mean, if Nigel woke up to a nightmare, I'd have no one to kick outta bed to deal with it."

"Oh, I feel so loved." He wrapped his arms around Richie, his chest to the blond's back.

Richie squeezed the hand he was holding. "You are. God, Virg…you're more loved than you know."

Virgil simply smiled and held his husband. He knew. It'd taken him years to figure it out, but he knew how much Rich loved him. He also knew he'd just put his lover through the wringer, but he'd make it up to Rich soon. It had to be done, to preserve the timeline. Because if anything had changed this time around, the future could've been altered.

And he wouldn't give up this future for anything.

* * *

Author's Prattle: This popped up as an idea after seeing the episode "Future Shock." You can't just go through all that, and NOT expect some sort of fallout. And of course, with my slash-colored glasses…Virgil could only have said fallout with one guy (and let's face it, Gear wouldn't leave without a good reason). 

And to my fans in other fandoms…yes, I KNOW I'm behind. Just keep in mind I work 1.5 jobs, go to school, and the muse….she is being appeased by angst. Blame valkarye-alex. Her "Through a Glass Darkly" is feeding my muse. Plus, I'm trying to break into the original genre (as well as professional fan fiction publishing), so my resources are stretched pretty thin. I AM working on L&S and Gi7H, I promise! It's just…taking time. sighs

Disclaimer. I don't own Static Shock. It belongs with DC and a couple other people. I'm just borrowing the characters cause they're so damned pliable.

As always, reviews are welcome, and I hope you enjoyed!


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